Wikipedia

2020–21 St Johnstone F.C. season

The 2020–21 St Johnstone F.C. season was the club's eighth season in the Scottish Premiership and their eleventh consecutive season in the top flight of Scottish football. St Johnstone also competed in the Scottish Cup and the League Cup, winning both competitions. St Johnstone became only the fourth Scottish team, and only the second outwith the Old Firm, to win a Scottish cup double.

St Johnstone
2020–21 season
ChairmanSteve Brown
ManagerCallum Davidson
StadiumMcDiarmid Park
Scottish Premiership5th
Scottish CupWinners
League CupWinners
Top goalscorerLeague: Guy Melamed (5)
All: Stevie May (9)
Cup finals colours

Season summary

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After the resignation of Tommy Wright, Alec Cleland took over as interim manager.[1] After sixteen years at the club Steven Anderson left before the season began along with Danny Swanson, Ross Callachan and David McMillan.[2] Former player and assistant manager Callum Davidson was appointed manager.[3] Former striker Steven MacLean retired to become a coach alongside Cleland who returns to his former role.[4] The Saints dropped to the bottom of the table after four games without a goal,[5] but after a 5–3 away win at Hamilton they moved off it.[6]

The Saints reached the final of the League Cup with a 3–0 win against Hibernian.[7] On 28 February 2021, St Johnstone defeated Livingston in the final thanks to a single goal from Shaun Rooney.[8] In doing so, the club won their first League Cup title, their second ever major honour, and ended Celtic's dominating run of having won the last 12 major honours at stake in Scotland.[8]

On 22 May 2021, St Johnstone won the Scottish Cup, defeating Hibs by a score of 1–0 in the final, with Shaun Rooney again netting the winning goal. With the victory, St Johnstone became just the fourth club in Scottish history to win the cup double after Aberdeen, Celtic, and Rangers.[9][10][11]

Results

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  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Pre-season

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21 July 2020 Friendly Aberdeen 1–2 St Johnstone Aberdeen
Anderson   [12] Tanser   75' (pen.), 80' Stadium: Pittodrie Stadium
Attendance: 0
25 July 2020 Friendly St Mirren Cancelled St Johnstone Paisley
[13] Stadium: St Mirren Park
Note: Match cancelled after positive COVID-19 tests

Scottish Premiership

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Main article: 2020–21 Scottish Premiership
1 August 2020[14] 1 Dundee United 1–1 St Johnstone Tannadice Park
15:00 BST Clark   6' (pen.) Report Craig   55' Referee: Kevin Clancy
12 August 2020 3 Rangers 3–0 St Johnstone Ibrox Stadium
19:45 BST Barisic   21'
Kent   45+2'
Aribo   49'		 Report Referee: Euan Anderson
15 August 2020 4 Kilmarnock 1–2 St Johnstone Rugby Park
15:00 BST Tshibola   61'
Millen   63'		 Report Wotherspoon   85'
O'Halloran   90+4'		 Referee: Andrew Dallas
20 August 2020 2 St Johnstone 0–1 Aberdeen McDiarmid Park
19:30 BST Craig   88' Report Ferguson   53'
Hedges   82',   88'
McCrorie   89'		 Referee: Willie Collum
Note: Rearranged after postponement, live on Sky Sports.
23 August 2020 5 St Johnstone 0–1 Hibernian McDiarmid Park
16:30 BST Craig   90+4' Report Mallan   90+1' (pen.) Referee: John Beaton
Note: Live on Sky Sports, Liam Craig was sent off after the final whistle
29 August 2020 6 St Johnstone 1–0 St Mirren McDiarmid Park
15:00 BST May   72' Report Referee: Kevin Clancy
12 September 2020 7 Motherwell 1–0 St Johnstone Fir Park
15:00 BST Campbell   4',   87'
O'Hara   36'
Watt   48'
Carson   69'		 Report Referee: Euan Anderson
19 September 2020 8 St Johnstone 0–1 Ross County McDiarmid Park
15:00 BST [1] Vigurs   42' Referee: David Munro
26 September 2020 9 Livingston 2–0 St Johnstone Tony Macaroni Arena
15:00 BST Tiffoney   34'
Forrest   35'		 Report Referee: Craig Napier
4 October 2020 10 St Johnstone 0–2 Celtic McDiarmid Park
12:00 BST Report Griffiths   90'
Klimala   90+3'		 Referee: Nick Walsh
17 October 2020 11 Hamilton Academical 3–5 St Johnstone New Douglas Park
15:00 BST Hughes   40', 79'
Ogkmpoe   44'		 Report May   1', 33'
Wotherspoon   14'
Conway   69', 82'		 Referee: Alan Muir
24 October 2020 12 St Johnstone 0–0 Dundee United McDiarmid Park
15:00 Report Attendance: 0
Referee: Andrew Dallas
6 November 2020 14 St Johnstone 1–0 Kilmarnock McDiarmid Park
19:45 McNamara   70' Report Attendance: 0
Referee: Gavin Duncan
21 November 2020 15 St Johnstone 1–1 Motherwell McDiarmid Park
15:00 May   34 pen.' Report O'Hara   17' Attendance: 0
Referee: Steven Kirkland
24 November 2020 13 Hibernian 2–2 St Johnstone McDiarmid Park
19:45 McGinn   36', 83' Report McCann   35'
Wotherspoon   76'		 Attendance: 0
Referee: Kevin Clancy
6 December 2020 16 Celtic 1–1 St Johnstone Celtic Park
15:00 Elyounoussi   83' Report Kane   79' Attendance: 0
12 December 2020 17 St Johnstone 1–2 Livingston McDiarmid Park
15:00 Kane   54' Report Guthrie   48'
Robinson   65'		 Attendance: 0
19 December 2020 18 St Mirren 3–2 St Johnstone St Mirren Park
15:00 Erhahon   38'
Erwin   82'
Obika   87'		 Report May   22 pen.'
Tanser   44'
Kerr   45'		 Attendance: 0
Referee: Steven McLean
23 December 2020 19 St Johnstone 0–3 Rangers McDiarmid Park
18:00 O'Halloran   83' Report Roofe   24'
Kamara   31'
Hagi   47'		 Attendance: 0
26 December 2020 20 Aberdeen 2–1 St Johnstone Pittodrie
15:00 Gosgrove   45+2 pen.'
Taylor   54'		 Report Gordon   38'
Hendry   90'		 Attendance: 0
Referee: Alan Muir
30 December 2020 21 St Johnstone 0–0 Hamilton Academical McDiarmid Park
15:00 Report Attendance: 0
Referee: David Munro
2 January 2021 22 Ross County 1–1 St Johnstone Victoria Park
15:00 Draper   21' Report Conway   26 pen.' Attendance: 0
Referee: Willie Collum
12 January 2021 23 Dundee United 2–2 St Johnstone Tannadice Park
18:00 Appéré   9'
Shankland   53'		 Report Melamed   16'
Kane   38'		 Attendance: 0
Referee: Colin Steven
16 January 2021 24 St Johnstone 1–0 St Mirren McDiarmid Park
15:00 Kane   46' Report MacPherson   55' Attendance: 0
Referee: Steven McLean
27 January 2021 26 St Johnstone 0–0 Aberdeen McDiarmid Park
18:00 GMT Gordon   81' Report Considine   24' Referee: Don Robertson
30 January 2021 25 Kilmarnock 2–3 St Johnstone Rugby Park
15:00 Burke   5'
Tshibola   32'		 Report Melamed   53'
Davidson   68'
McCann   72'		 Attendance: 0
Referee: Greg Aitken
3 February 2021 27 Rangers 1–0 St Johnstone Ibrox Stadium
19:45 Roofe   21'
Hagi   52'		 Report Kane   85' Referee: David Munro
6 February 2021 28 Livingston 1–2 St Johnstone Tony Macaroni Arena
15:00 GMT Pittman   83' Report Tanser   45+2'
Rooney   51'		 Referee: Euan Anderson
14 February 2021 29 St Johnstone 1–2 Celtic McDiarmid Park
12:00 Rooney   50' Report Édouard   60', 62' Attendance: 0
Referee: Steven McLean
20 February 2021 30 Motherwell 0–3 St Johnstone Fir Park
15:00 GMT Report Melamed   19', 50 pen.'
Kerr   45'		 Attendance: 0
Referee: John Beaton
3 March 2021 31 Hamilton Academical 1–1 St Johnstone New Douglas Park
18:00 GMT Callachan   36' Report Melamed   87' Attendance: 0
Referee: Grant Irvine
6 March 2021 32 St Johnstone 1–0 Hibernian McDiarmid Park
15:00 Craig   16' Report Attendance: 0
Referee: David Dickinson
20 March 2021 33 St Johnstone 1–0 Ross County McDiarmid Park
15:00 Middleton   86' Report Attendance: 0
Referee: Craig Napier
10 April 2021 34 St Johnstone 0–1 Aberdeen McDiarmid Park
15:00 Report Hayes   52' Attendance: 0
Referee: John Beaton
21 April 2021 35 St Johnstone 1–1 Rangers McDiarmid Park
19:45 Craig   90+4 pen.' Report Wright   55' Attendance: 0
Referee: Euan Anderson
1 May 2021 36 Hibernian 0–1 St Johnstone Easter Road
15:00 GMT Report Middleton   22' Attendance: 0
Referee: Greg Aitken
12 May 2021 37 Celtic 4–0 St Johnstone Celtic Park
15:00 GMT Turnbull   23'
Édouard   24'
Ajer   79'
Dembélé   85'		 Report Attendance: 0
Referee: Bobby Madden
15 May 2021 38 St Johnstone 0–0 Livingston McDiarmid Park
12:30 Report Attendance: 0
Referee: Craig Napier

Scottish League Cup

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Group stage

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Main article: 2020–21 Scottish League Cup
6 October 2020 Kelty Hearts 1–2 St Johnstone New Central Park
19:45 Tidser   71' Report Kerr   45+2'
Kane   60'		 Attendance: 0
Referee: Alan Newlands
10 October 2020 St Johnstone 7–0 Brechin City McDiarmid Park
15:00 May   3', 58', 62'
Wotherspoon   25', 56'
Hendry   88' (pen.)
Davidson   90'		 Attendance: 0
Referee: Craig Napier
10 November 2020 St Johnstone 0–0
(3–4 p)		 Dundee United McDiarmid Park
19:45 Report Attendance: 0
14 November 2020 Peterhead 1–3 St Johnstone Balmoor Stadium
15:00 Rooney   78 o.g.' Report May   49 pen.', 60 pen.'
Kane   77'		 Attendance: 0

Knockout round

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28 November 2020 Second round Motherwell 1–2 St Johnstone Fir Park
15:00 Watt   61' Report Hendry   68'
Wotherspoon   77'		 Attendance: 0
Referee: Alan Muir
15 December 2020 Quarter-final Dunfermline Athletic 1–1
(3–4 p)		 St Johnstone East End Park
19:45
Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Don Robertson
23 January 2021 Semi-final St Johnstone 3–0 Hibernian Hampden Park
17:30
Report Attendance: 0
28 February 2021 Final Livingston 0–1 St Johnstone Hampden Park
14:00 Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Don Robertson

Scottish Cup

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Main article: 2020–21 Scottish Cup
3 April 2021 Third round Dundee 0–1 St Johnstone Dens Park
15:00 Report Melamed   20' Attendance: 0
Referee: Craig Napier
17 April 2021 Fourth round St Johnstone 2–0 Clyde McDiarmid Park
12:00 Melamed   6'
O'Halloran   21'		 Report Attendance: 0
Referee: Steven Kirkland
25 April 2021 Quarter-final Rangers 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(2–4 p)		 St Johnstone Glasgow
18:30
Report
Stadium: Ibrox Stadium
Attendance: N/A
Referee: Alan Muir
Penalties
9 May 2021 Semi-final St Mirren 1–2 St Johnstone Glasgow
14:15 McCarthy   86' Report Kane   72'
Middleton   74'		 Stadium: Hampden Park
Attendance: 0
Referee: Willie Collum
22 May 2021 Final St Johnstone 1–0 Hibernian Glasgow
14:00 Rooney   32' Report Stadium: Hampden Park
Attendance: 0
Referee: Nick Walsh

Squad statistics

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Appearances

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As of 22 May 2021
No. Pos Player Premiership League Cup Scottish Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK   Zander Clark 27 0 7 0 4 0 38 0
2 DF   James Brown 4+1 0 0 0 1+1 0 7 0
3 DF   Scott Tanser 21+6 1 4 0 2 0 33 1
4 DF   Jamie McCart 36 0 6+1 0 5 0 48 0
5 DF   Jason Kerr (c) 30 1 6 1 5 0 41 2
6 DF   Liam Gordon 35+1 1 7 0 5 0 48 1
7 MF   Craig Conway 19+8 3 5+2 0 0 0 34 3
8 MF   Murray Davidson 14+7 1 4+2 1 0+1 0 28 2
9 FW   Chris Kane 17+10 4 5+3 2 2+2 2 39 8
10 MF   David Wotherspoon 28+9 3 7+1 3 5 0 50 6
11 FW   Michael O'Halloran 13+12 1 2+1 0 1+3 1 32 2
12 GK   Elliot Parish 9 0 1 0 1 0 11 0
13 MF   Craig Bryson 12+8 0 2+2 0 2+2 0 28 0
14 FW   Stevie May 17+16 4 3+5 5 3 0 44 9
15 MF   Charlie Gilmour 1+1 0 0 0 0+1 0 3 0
16 MF   Glenn Middleton 3+6 2 0 0 1+3 1 13 3
17 FW   Guy Melamed 11+7 5 1 0 4 2 23 7
18 MF   Ali McCann 31+2 2 4 0 4+1 0 42 2
19 DF   Shaun Rooney 20+8 2 8 2 4 1 40 5
20 FW   John Robertson 0+5 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
24 DF   Callum Booth 15+3 0 7 0 3+1 0 29 0
25 GK   Zdeněk Zlámal 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
26 MF   Liam Craig 17+5 2 7 0 3 0 32 2
40 DF   Samuel Denham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
46 FW   Alexander Ferguson 0+1 0 0+1 0 0 0 2 0
Player who left the club during the season
2 DF   Wallace Duffy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
15 DF   Danny McNamara 22 1 0 0 0 0 22 1
16 FW   Isaac Olaofe 0+2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
22 FW   Callum Hendry 8+8 0 3+3 2 0 0 22 2
23 MF   Cammy Ballantyne 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
45 GK   Ross Sinclair 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Team statistics

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League table

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[a]
3 Hibernian 38 18 9 11 48 35 +13 63 Qualification for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round
4 Aberdeen 38 15 11 12 36 38 −2 56
5 St Johnstone 38 11 12 15 36 46 −10 45 Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round[b]
6 Livingston 38 12 9 17 42 54 −12 45
7 St Mirren 38 11 12 15 37 45 −8 45
Source: [15]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-Head goal difference; 6) Play-off (only if deciding champion, UEFA competitions qualification, second stage group allocation or relegation).[16]
Notes:
  1. ^ Teams play each other three times (33 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).
  2. ^ St Johnstone qualified as the 2020–21 Scottish Cup winners.

League Cup table

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Pos Team
 Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification STJ DUN PET KEL BRE
1 St Johnstone 4 3 0 1 0 12 2 +10 10 Qualification for the Second round — 0–0p — — 7–0
2 Dundee United 4 2 1 0 1 7 3 +4 8 — — 0–1 1–0 —
3 Peterhead 4 2 1 0 1 6 5 +1 8 1–3 — — — 3–1
4 Kelty Hearts 4 1 0 1 2 4 4 0 4 1–2 — 1–1p — —
5 Brechin City 4 0 0 0 4 3 18 −15 0 — 2–6 — 0–2 —
Source: [17]
Rules for classification: 1) points, 2) goal difference, 3) goals scored, 4) away goals scored, 5) matches won, 6) away matches won, 7) drawing of lots.[18]

Transfers

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Main articles: List of Scottish football transfers summer 2020 and List of Scottish football transfers winter 2020–21

Players in

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Date Player From Fee
1 June 2020   Shaun Rooney   Inverness Caledonian Thistle Free[19]
14 July 2020   Danny McNamara   Millwall Loan[20]
14 July 2020   Isaac Olaofe   Millwall Loan[20]
31 July 2020   Craig Conway   Salford City Free[21]
18 September 2020   Craig Bryson   Aberdeen Free[22]
5 October 2020   Guy Melamed   Maccabi Netanya Free[23]
4 January 2021   James Brown   Millwall Loan[24]
25 January 2021   Glenn Middleton   Rangers Loan[25]
1 February 2021   Charlie Gilmour   Norwich City Free[26]
7 May 2021   Zdeněk Zlámal   Heart of Midlothian Loan[27]

Players out

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Date Player To Fee
16 May 2020   Danny Swanson   East Fife Free[28][29]
29 June 2020   Ross Callachan   Hamilton Academical Free[2][30]
10 July 2020   Drey Wright   Hibernian Free[31][32]
11 July 2020   Euan O'Riley   Airdrieonians Free[2]
14 July 2020   Steven Anderson   Forfar Athletic Free[2]
27 May 2020   David McMillan   Dundalk Free[2]
30 July 2020   Danny Swanson   East Fife Free[33][34]
27 May 2020   Max Johnstone   AFC Fylde Free[2]
14 September 2020   Cammy Ballantyne   Montrose Loan
22 September 2020   Olly Hamilton   Cowdenbeath Loan
25 September 2020   Ross Sinclair   Cowdenbeath Loan
5 October 2020   Wallace Duffy   Inverness Caledonian Thistle Free[35]
5 October 2020   John Robertson   Forfar Athletic Loan
27 May 2020   Shaun Struthers   Jeanfield Swifts Free[2][36]
1 February 2021   Callum Hendry   Aberdeen Loan[37]

See also

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List of St Johnstone F.C. seasons

References

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  1. ^ McFarlane, Jonathan. "Alec Cleland appointed St Johnstone caretaker boss after Tommy Wright exit". Daily Record. 2 May 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Jane (27 May 2020). "St Johnstone's Steven Anderson eyes 'next chapter' after 16 years". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  3. ^ McLauchlin, Brian (18 June 2020). "Callum Davidson: St Johnstone appoint former player as boss". BBC Sport.
  4. ^ "St Johnstone: former player Steven MacLean appointed coach". BBC Sport. BBC. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Celtic earn late win at St Johnstone". BBC Sport.
  6. ^ "St Johnstone edge Hamilton in thriller". BBC Sport.
  7. ^ Duncan, Thomas (23 January 2021). "St Johnstone 3-0 Hibernian: Perth side stun favourites to reach Scottish League Cup final". BBC Sport.
  8. ^ a b Lindsay, Clive (28 February 2021). "Livingston 0–1 St Johnstone". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  9. ^ "St Johnstone complete dream double after beating Hibs to win Scottish Cup". The Guardian. 22 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  10. ^ "St Johnstone edged Hibernian to lift the Scottish Cup for a second time and seal a domestic trophy double in the greatest season in the club's history". BBC. 22 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  11. ^ "St Johnstone complete dream double after beating Hibs to win Scottish Cup". Guardian. 22 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  12. ^ "PRE-SEASON | Aberdeen 1-2 Saints".
  13. ^ "St Johnstone's friendly against St Mirren on Saturday cancelled after Buddies confirm several members of coaching staff have tested positive for Covid-19".
  14. ^ "2020/21 Fixtures Announced". perthstjohnstone.co.uk. 6 July 2020.
  15. ^ "Summary - Premiership". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 25 March 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  16. ^ "The Rules of the Scottish Professional Football League" (PDF). SPFL. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  17. ^ "Summary - League Cup Group C". Soccerway. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  18. ^ "Format". SPFL. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  19. ^ "Caley Thistle full back will not join St Johnstone until contract runs out". Inverness Courier. 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  20. ^ a b "St Johnstone: Millwall's Isaac Olaofe and Danny McNamara sign on loan". BBC Sport. BBC. 14 July 2020.
  21. ^ "Conway: "I'm buzzing to get started"".
  22. ^ "Craig Bryson: St Johnstone sign former Aberdeen midfielder until end of season". BBC Sport. 18 September 2020.
  23. ^ "SAINTS SIGN STRIKER GUY MELAMED FROM MACCABI NETANYA". St Johnstone FC. 5 October 2020.
  24. ^ "James Brown: Millwall full-back joins St Johnstone on loan". BBC Sport. 4 January 2020.
  25. ^ "Glenn Middleton: St Johnstone sign Rangers winger on loan". BBC Sport. BBC. 25 January 2021.
  26. ^ "Former Arsenal youngster Charlie Gilmour signs for Saints". perthstjohnstonefc. St Johnstone FC. 1 February 2021.
  27. ^ "St Johnstone sign Hearts goalkeeper Zdenek Zlamal on seven-day emergency loan". glasgowtimes. Glasgow Times. 7 May 2021.
  28. ^ "St Johnstone release Danny Swanson as playmaker's third spell at McDiarmid Park comes to an end". www.thecourier.co.uk. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  29. ^ "Danny Swanson Agrees Terms to Join East Fife". East Fife FC. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  30. ^ McGilvray, Andy (2020-06-29). "Hamilton Accies confirm double signing swoop, with more to come". Daily Record. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  31. ^ "Drey Wright: Winger to leave St Johnstone after rejecting new deal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  32. ^ "Hibernian sign Kevin Nisbet, Drey Wright & Alex Gogic". BBC Sport. 10 July 2020.
  33. ^ "St Johnstone release Danny Swanson as playmaker's third spell at McDiarmid Park comes to an end". www.thecourier.co.uk. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  34. ^ "Danny Swanson Agrees Terms to Join East Fife".
  35. ^ "Wallace Duffy signs for ICTFC". ictfc.com. 5 October 2020.
  36. ^ "Jeanfield Swifts sign former St Johnstone youngster Shaun Struthers". 28 November 2020.
  37. ^ "Dons sign Kamberi, Hornby and Hendry". BBC Sport. 1 February 2021.
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